Habitat and Annual Variation in Arthropod Abundance Affects Blue Tit<i>Cyanistes caeruleus</i>Reproduction

Marciniak, Bronisław; Nadolski, Jerzy; Nowakowska, Magdalena; Loga, Barbara; Bańbura, Jerzy

doi:10.3161/068.042.0113

Cited by 78 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(76 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This difference in condition between both study areas reflects differences in trophic conditions, as described by Naef-Daenzer and Keller (1999). Our study areas considerably differ in caterpillar productivity, with the forest site being characterized by 2-5 times higher abundance of caterpillars than the parkland site (Marciniak et al 2007;Bańbura et al 2013). Additionally, long-term year-to-year changes in haemoglobin concentration were correlated with frassfall peaks in the forest site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…The collectors were checked and emptied every 5 days. In the laboratory, the samples from frassfall collectors were inspected under the microscope to separate caterpillar frass from other particles, then the frass particles were dried (24 h in 60°C) and weighed to the nearest 0.1 mg. For each study site, the resulting masses and counts were calculated and presented as peak values per trap per day in a given year (Marciniak et al 2007). The minimum peak amount of frassfall in the parkland was 0.05 g/m 2 /day (2007), while the maximum peak recorded was 0.41 g/m 2 /day (2003), with mean (± SD) 0.20 ± 0.11 g frass/m 2 /day (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013).…”

Section: Methods Study Area Field and Laboratory Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Spatial variation in haemoglobin concentration of nestling Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus): a long-term perspective

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An understanding of the influences of anthropogenic disturbance and variation in habitat quality on organism condition and breeding success may improve future management and conservation decisions. Some authors consider haemoglobin concentration to be a simple biochemical indicator of bird condition. The main goal of this paper is to examine if the level of haemoglobin displays any consistent pattern of variation across habitats differing in quality. We present results concerning longterm variation in haemoglobin concentration in the blood of about 14-day-old nestling Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) in central Poland in an 11-year period (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013), in two landscapes (an urban parkland and a deciduous forest). The most important findings of the study are: (1) the concentration of haemoglobin of the nestlings from the same brood tended to be consistently similar, with most variation occurring between broods, (2) mean levels of haemoglobin varied between years, and were correlated with caterpillar abundance peaks in the forest study site, (3) mean haemoglobin concentration was significantly higher in the forest area than in the parkland area, (4) haemoglobin levels were positively correlated with breeding and fledging success. We confirmed that haemoglobin concentration displays a spatio-temporal pattern and that the level of haemoglobin is a reliable condition and habitat quality indicator in nestling Blue Tits in the study populations. Although, strictly speaking, the analysed differences are between two particular sites, we think that they reflect differences between urban and non-urban habitats.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Methods Study Area Field and Laboratory Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial variation in haemoglobin concentration of nestling Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus): a long-term perspective

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A positive correlation would also imply that birds are more able to predict the relative quality of a breeding season than they are able to predict the future effects of different habitats. Indeed, previous studies have shown among year correlations between clutch size and caterpillar abundance, with the latter providing a proxy for the quality of the year for blue tit reproduction (Perrins 1965, 1991, Marciniak et al 2007). That we found no evidence of a latitudinal gradient in clutch size at this scale agreed with previous studies (Fargallo 2004, Evans et al 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous work examining the effect of breeding habitat on tit productivity has typically considered variation among territories at a single site (Perrins 1979, Wilkin et al 2009, Amininasab et al 2016 or between two or three sites (Blondel et al 1991, Tremblay et al 2003, Marciniak et al 2007). For the two most frequently studied tit species, great tit Parus major and blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus, differences among major woodland types are widely documented, with clutch sizes and fledgling numbers approximately one third larger in deciduous compared with coniferous (Gibb and Betts 1963, Perrins 1965, Van Balen 1973 or sclerophyllous (Blondel et al 1993, Lambrechts et al 1997 woodlands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of woodland habitat and biogeography on blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus territory occupancy and productivity along a 220 km transect

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The nesting phenology and productivity of hole-nesting woodland passerines, such as tit species (Paridae), has been the subject of many studies and played a central role in advancing our understanding of the causes and consequences of trophic mismatch. However, as most studies have been conducted in mature, oak-rich (Quercus sp.) woodlands, it is unknown whether insights from such studies generalise to other habitats used by woodland generalist species. Here we applied spatial mixed models to data collected over three years (2014)(2015)(2016) from 238 nestboxes across 40 sites -that vary in woodland habitat and elevation -along a 220 km transect in Scotland. We evaluate the importance of habitat, biogeography and food availability as predictors of mesoscale among-site variation in blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus nestbox occupancy and two components of productivity (clutch size and fledging success). We found that habitat was not a significant predictor of occupancy or clutch size but that occupancy exhibited pronounced biogeographic trends, declining with increasing latitude and elevation. However, fledging success, defined as the proportion of a clutch that fledged, was positively correlated with site level availability of birch, oak and sycamore, and tree diversity. The lack of correspondence between the effects of habitat on fledging success versus occupancy and clutch size may indicate that blue tits do not accurately predict the future quality of their breeding sites when selecting territories and laying clutches. We found little evidence of spatial autocorrelation in occupancy or clutch size, whereas spatial autocorrelation in fledging success extends over multiple sites, albeit non-significantly. Taken together, our findings suggest that the relationship between breeding decisions and breeding outcomes varies among habitats, and we urge caution when extrapolating inferences from one habitat to others.

show abstract

“…This effect may be partly related to the habitat fragmentation, which has been shown to increase stress and decrease nest success of some passerines (Suorsa et al 2003;Dietz et al 2013). These indicators were probably influenced by several factors: food abundance, which is on average regularly lower in the parkland than in the forest habitat (Marciniak et al 2007), habitat fragmentation (being higher in the parkland) and humancaused disturbance. Müller et al (2006) studied effects of human presence on corticosterone levels in parent blue tits and found no adrenocortical response to this factor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of human-related disturbance on breeding success of urban and non-urban blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus)

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is a need to study the effects of urbanization on wildlife in order to understand the ecological implications of increasing urbanization and find out how to reduce its threats to biodiversity. The blue tit evolved as a forest species and prefers deciduous and mixed forests, whereas its nesting in urban habitats is a more recent phenomenon. Our long-term study of blue tit populations has been conducted in two habitats: an urban parkland (frequently visited by people) and a deciduous forest outside of the city. Using linear mixed modeling, we revealed that a relationship of blue tit breeding success (and the number of fledglings) with thermal conditions in May differed between the urban parkland and the forest. While the relationship was positive in the forest, it was negative in the parkland. In addition, breeding success in the parkland increased with increasing number of rainy days in May. We argue that the main possible reason for such patterns is human activity in the parkland, which interferes with tit parental care, especially the regular feeding of nestlings, whereas it is evidently associated with weather conditions. Human disturbance in the forest is likely to be negligible.

show abstract

Habitat and Annual Variation in Arthropod Abundance Affects Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusReproduction

Cited by 78 publications

References 56 publications

Spatial variation in haemoglobin concentration of nestling Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus): a long-term perspective

Spatial variation in haemoglobin concentration of nestling Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus): a long-term perspective

The effects of woodland habitat and biogeography on blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus territory occupancy and productivity along a 220 km transect

Effects of human-related disturbance on breeding success of urban and non-urban blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About